One of my most vivid memories as a child was watching Jaws in 1977 with my dad. I doubt it’s suitable for a 7 year old as I remember being terrified of swimming in the sea for about two years even though I grew up in Malaysia and it’s mandatory to swim. In the sea. And no, there are no sharks in Malaysia. I now realise the power of imagination and the impact of movies on creativity.
I had the pleasure of talking to US author, David Schleicher, known by his writing name D.H. Schleicher, not to be confused with D.H. Lawrence though it would be an exciting exploration to study the similarities. I use Twitter to find new writing and was thrilled to have first discovered a marvellous literary writer. I enjoyed And Then We Vanish, his anthology of dark literary family stories with memorable characters who stay long with you after you’ve read the book. I am looking forward to reading his novel Then Came Darkness.
Hi David! I am thrilled to have you here. I’d love to hear a bit about yourself.
I live in the South Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia with my wife, who is a therapist, and our two-year-old son, who is awesome. Outside of writing I have a great career managing strategy for a large financial services company. Most of my interests outside of writing have been curbed during the global pandemic: travel, going out to eat, and going to the movies. Lately I walk around the neighborhood a lot with my son, and have been reading more books than ever (granted 80% of those books are kid’s board books). I’ve been a writer since I learned how to write. I credit my parents instilling in me a love of books and movies as the biggest influence in choosing to write my first “novel” at age seven about a diamond heist.
My parents also instilled in me the love for reading. I grew up with a bicycle, a piano and a library card. What are the themes in movies which overlap with the books that you enjoy reading?
I will usually get more daring in my movie watching than my reading. I find things like science fiction, horror, and action driven stories translate better to the visual medium. In both books and movies, I enjoy thrillers, noir, and character-driven psychological suspense. My love for literary fiction is matched by my love for a good slow-burn character-driven indie film.
I share the same interests in those themes, especially slowburn literary psychological crossovers, like Memento, Mulholland Drive and Shutter Island. As a fellow author, I’d love to know what your favourite foods, products and movies are. Take us into a glimpse of your world.
a) foods – my wife’s homemade ratatouille with fresh farmers market vegetables, a certain gnocchi from a local Italian restaurant, chicken piccata
b) products – I’m a diehard Apple user, Hyundai driver, and Netflix streamer
c) movies – The Third Man, Paris Texas, There Will Be Blood
David, how has movie watching affected you and your writing?
Movies have just as big an influence on my style and the types of stories I like to tell as other books do. As I write, I always imagine my stories on screen. I try to write in a cinematic style.
Scene-setting and location shots are my favourite visual writing moments. What keeps you up at night?
Living through a global pandemic, with a toddler, in a country having the most contentious election possibly in history…nothing much.
Being an author, how do you think your book blogging/reading helps others and yourself?
Blogging can keep you active during dry spells in creative writing. I love writing reviews for books and movies. Watching movies and reading books can really help you stay fresh and give you insights into what works and doesn’t work in storytelling.
What genres in fiction do you enjoy?
Literary fiction, psychological thrillers, character-driven melodrama, historical fiction
Thanks David, for taking us on a journey… where you live, your family, the things you like and the movies and books which have influenced you. Those were wonderful answers. And thank YOU for reading this blog post.
Are you a fan of books or movies or both? Do you say “films” or do you say “movies”? If you enjoyed this blog post, please share.
You can contact D.H. Schleicher on
Twitter: @schleicherspin
Amazon links to David’s books:
And Then We Vanish and Other Stories
Ivy Ngeow was born and raised in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. She is the author of three novels, Overboard (Leopard Print, 2020), Cry of the Flying Rhino (Proverse Hong Kong, 2017), winner of 2016 International Proverse Prize, Heart of Glass (Unbound UK, 2018) and many short stories. She also writes non-fiction books on cooking, beauty, health and fitness. She lives in London.
#overboard #ivyngeow Tweet me: @ivyngeow
